Voice of youth counts, says OSCE Secretary General Zannier on the occasion of International Youth Day

VIENNA, 12 August 2016 -  This year’s International Youth Day, 12 August, focuses on achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the leading role youth plays for equitable socioeconomic development – critical also to the implementation of relevant commitments of OSCE participating States.

“The potential of young people in contributing to economic, political and social development is unquestionable,” said OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier. “We must redouble efforts to engage with young men and women at all levels across the OSCE region to let them speak out on their vision for more peaceful, inclusive and sustainable societies. Their voice counts and must be heard.”

“Despite their potential to be agents of positive change, young people are one of the groups at highest risk of social exclusion,” says Special Representative of the OSCE Chairmanship-in-Office on Youth and Security Milena Stošić. “We all need to start walking the talk more actively and in line with many high-level political commitments – by giving more opportunities to youth to take part in a real dialogue.”

Special Representative Paul Steiner said that the OSCE has a great impact on consolidation of democratic reforms and the strengthening of civil society through its work on the ground. “It is imperative to let youth lead the way when defining what their future society looks like.”

Special Representative Anna-Katharina Deininger emphasized youth engagement as a cornerstone of many practices to counter violent extremism. “However, often efforts remain invisible, unrecognized or are even undermined due to a lack of adequate participatory and inclusive mechanisms. Creating an enabling environment and opportunities for youth to participate and engage in public life contributes not only to more just and inclusive societies, but also to security and co-operation across the OSCE area.”

Milena Stošić, Paul Steiner and Anna-Katharina Deininger advise the German OSCE Chairmanship 2016 on youth issues. They voice the views of young people on issues such as countering radicalization and terrorism, migration or human rights at OSCE events and actively champion the concerns of young people in the OSCE. The three Special Representatives come from the OSCE Troika countries of Serbia, Germany and Austria, which represent the preceding, current and succeeding Chairmanships-in-Office of the OSCE respectively.

In 2015, the OSCE Ministerial Council in Belgrade, Serbia, adopted the Declaration on Youth and Security. One year earlier, the Declaration on Youth was adopted at the OSCE Ministerial Council in Basel, Switzerland.

Learn more about the activities of the Chairmanship Youth Representatives on the social media: Follow @OSCEyouthSR on Twitter and on Facebook. #OSCEyouth is the key hashtag for all youth related tweets and postings of the OSCE.